It is a companion novel
to Dumplin', which follows supporting characters from the first book in
the months after Willowdean's star turn in the Clover City pageant.
Millie
Michalchuk has gone to fat camp every year since she was a girl. Not
this year. This year she has new plans to chase her secret dream—and to
kiss her crush. Callie Reyes is the pretty girl who is next in line for
dance team captain and has the popular boyfriend. But when it comes to
other girls, she’s more frenemy than friend. When circumstances bring
the girls together over the course of a semester, they will surprise
everyone (especially themselves) by realizing they might have more in
common than they ever imagined.
Self-proclaimed fat
girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen
mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the
ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American
beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until
Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets
Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find
herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her
back.
Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her
relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to
take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can
imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several
other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up
there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the
hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.
With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.
Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever.
Since
then, it’s been Ramona and her family against the world. Standing over
six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three
things: she likes girls, she’s fiercely devoted to her family, and she
knows she’s destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls
home in Eulogy, Mississippi. But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom,
and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of
the family. Now, with her sister, Hattie, pregnant, responsibility
weighs more heavily than ever.
The return of her childhood friend
Freddie brings a welcome distraction. Ramona’s friendship with the
former competitive swimmer picks up exactly where it left off, and soon
he’s talked her into joining him for laps at the pool. But as Ramona
falls in love with swimming, her feelings for Freddie begin to shift
too, which is the last thing she expected. With her growing affection
for Freddie making her question her sexual identity, Ramona begins to
wonder if perhaps she likes girls and guys or if this new attraction is
just a fluke. Either way, Ramona will discover that, for her, life and
love are more fluid than they seem.
